Along with increased availability of digital media of all types and varieties, devices for rendering the media have proliferated as well. And yet, for all of such proliferation, the user interface model applied when rendering the media has remained largely the same. In particular, existing user interface models for rendering media treat different media types differently, and for each view of a media type being rendered, treat the view as a different independent user interface state, having its own entry and exit points. This can be particularly frustrating for users who possess portable media devices with limited user interface real estate including a variety of media types in their media library.
Under the traditional hierarchical model for navigating media, a user first selects a top level category, such as “Albums,” or “Artists,” or “All Songs.” A list is associated with the top level category, and the user selects an element from the list. Then, there may be one or more sub-categories associated with the element selected, all of equal hierarchical weight. For instance, in the case of the selection of a particular Album from a list of Albums, a list of songs associated with the selected Album appears for the user's further selection. Since generally, a “song” is the atomic element of music navigation, there is no further sub-navigation, and selection of the song results in its being rendered, or otherwise selected for some operation. This type of navigation is not that much different than the navigation of a traditional hierarchical file management system, wherein a folder is selected, and then sub-folders of equal hierarchical weight appear, and sub-folders can be selected with similar drilling down until atomic elements, such as files, that can not be subdivided further are reached.
Under current models for rendering media, as illustrated in FIG. 1, once a media object is selected for rendering, the media is rendered according to a view for the media type, e.g., Music View1. While the user can navigate to another state, represented by Music View2, the user must explicitly select the alternate view and leave the current state, and cannot cycle through alternate views in a wrapping circular fashion. Current media rendering displays also do not preserve the user's settings and last view displayed for when the user renders similar media objects.
Thus, there is a need in the art for an improved user interface for a media rendering experience. There is a need for a user interface that is simple, i.e., not complicated or cluttered, with an intuitive design whereby it is easy to find media and play it back. There is further a need for a user interface that emphasizes the rendering of the media. There is still further a need for a user interface that dovetails with the implementation of a user interface in a smaller form factor, such as may be included in a portable or handheld media player.